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What We Do When Our Brain Decides: Neurophilosophy Find the Answers International Journal of Research and Review www.ijrrjournal.com E-ISSN: 2349-9788; P-ISSN: 2454-2237 Original Research Article What We Do When our Brain Decides: Neurophilosophy Find the Answers Ferrara Lydia1, Flammia Aurora2 1Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples “Federico II,” Naples, Italy. 2 ISFOM, Istituto Formazione Musicoterapia, Naples, Italy. Corresponding Author: Ferrara Lydia Received: 25/02/2016 Revised: 08/03/2016 Accepted: 09/03/2016 ABSTRACT Understanding the behaviour, their own and others, it gave rise along the entire course of human history, in various research methodologies. Over time they have developed two distinct cultures that have operated as if the human being was made up of two entities: on the one hand, the bodies, the object of study of the natural sciences, on the other, the mind, the object of study of the human sciences. Often, nature and culture, innate and acquired, genetics and environment have found ourselves in positions irreconcilable; however, thanks to the most recent findings on the functioning of the nervous system, it was possible to revolutionize the way we think about the relationship between mind, brain and behaviour. In this context, the "Neurophilosophy" arises as a discipline whose aim is to establish a relationship between neuroscience and philosophy. Neuroscience infact, are influencing profoundly philosophical thought because, with their certainties, have questioned the classical view of the separation between mind and brain. The essence of Neurophilosophy is the thesis that knowledge of the mind essentially passes through the knowledge of the brain, but this does not imply that the neurosciences up the whole understanding of mental phenomena. Recent developments in the neuroscience offer an increasing amount of “brain-based” explanations of decision-making in ethics (and economics). We reject brain-fundamentalism and we argue that neuroscientific developments support a moderate form of naturalism, according to which empirical results may indirectly influence moral reflection, but offer no direct evidence to radical reductive naturalism. Key Words: Neurophilosophy, neuroscience thought, mind-brain, behaviour. INTRODUCTION results adaptive and advantageous. Physical Every living organism to form, activity is functional to the collection of develop, maintain their balance and information related to the external reproduce needs energy. The evolution of environment through the different sensory different species allowed levels of systems. More complex and evolved are the adaptation to increasingly complex and sensory systems of the organism, the greater sophisticated. It has gone from single-celled is the number of information collected and life forms to plants, until the appearance of used to decide the movement to perform. the animals, which have a highly The most relevant problem, then, is to be autonomous movement in the environment. able to coordinate sensory input and motor So that the movements are deemed useful output, is the ability to select, among all for the survival and reproduction of the those possible, the appropriate movements, organism must be chosen so as to produce in response to inputs coming from the International Journal of Research & Review (www.gkpublication.in) 25 Vol.3; Issue: 3; March 2016 environment, “selected and read", from the many aspects of reality, but is closely moment to moment. related to the representation that humans In animals, the specialized body in have of themselves. If only humans have a charge of this task is the Central Nervous "mind", they have a standard of living System (CNS), a network of cells called "mental" that exceeds and transcends the neurons, specialized in collecting and mere biological life. So the man oneself processing information, as well as in describes as radically different from reality modular, so complex, the different physical "mindless" surrounding it. Different mental activities. The neural network of brain representations of the self, culturally processes the information received and thus transmitted, as "the soul", "spirit" or "mind" permissible to establish: have in common with one each other, the a) when two different inputs require the effect of keeping us away and separated same motor response from the rest of reality, from nature, and, (generalization) or different motor from other aspects, even from our body responses (discrimination); and, above all, from the end of our body, b) if and when correlate the different that is from death. inputs (association); Objectives c) if and when correlate the present The goal to be pursued will be to inputs with the past input (memory); connect more firmly the human sciences to d) if and when you select the input the natural sciences, the "mind" with the information (sensorial gating / activity of the nervous system: [9] any information processing), so that the conduct, simple or complex, is the product motorial response depend only on of a specific neural activity. the choice (focus). [1, 2] The interpretation of human Performed the processing of sensory behaviour, in the light of current knowledge information, the CNS sends appropriate on the functioning of the nervous system, it stimuli to the motor system that, by has become possible only in recent decades controlling the muscles through contractions with the overwhelming progress of and relaxations appropriate and specific, knowledge from the neurosciences (Nobel produces the body's movements. React to Laureate Eric Kandel), which became an sensory stimuli with appropriate motions, instrument of general interpretation man and under the control of the nervous system, in the world. [10-14] The pedagogy itself is biology is called behaviour. The behaviour increasingly assuming a perspective of an organism has been always adjusted founded on neuroscience, using programs and objectively describable. [3,4] In the and methods of evaluation that make direct understanding of human beings, merely reference to the theories of learning, in considering only the external behaviour is terms of the relationship between mental not enough, it must have information about processes and brain structures. their mental life or psychological. For Neuropsychology, created for the study of "mind" we mean a complex set of tasks: disorders, which occur as a result of specific attentional, cognitive and mnesic, emotions brain disorders, has become the study of and intimate affectsl, private, subjective, human behaviour in all its forms. The that's not always and not necessarily cognitive neuroscientists face the question translate into behaviour. [5] Every human of how psychological functions are being responds to external stimuli, in a generated by neural circuits. The emergence subjective way, as well as its "mind” has of powerful new measurement techniques, them processed, based on their emotions such as those of neuroimaging (ex. fMRI and personal thoughts and specific functional magnetic resonance memories. [6,7] In the opinion of Blaise imaging, PET, Positron Emission Pascal, [8] the "mind" is not simply one of Tomography SPECT Single Photon International Journal of Research & Review (www.gkpublication.in) 26 Vol.3; Issue: 3; March 2016 Emission Computed Tomography), ability of the human mind is in fact electrophysiology and human genetic capacities of the human brain. The analysis combined with sophisticated reductionist strategy tries to explain the experimental techniques cognitive macro (neuropsychological and cognitive psychology, allows neuroscientists and ability) in terms of micro levels (neural psychologists to deal with abstract questions network properties). Patricia Smith such as cooperative behavior, social Churchland in an article critically evaluates morality, selflessness, awareness, religious the arguments that deny the neurobiological feelings, etc., that is the way human interpretation of the mind. Reconcile aspects cognition and the emotion are mapped to of individual subjectivity of behaviour with specific neural substrates. [15-17] With these those of biological determinism is difficult methods, the clinical study of pathological in the context of psychological and conditions, such as amnesia, aphasia, psychiatric sciences, but also in sensory neglect, helps to identify the contemporary philosophical thought. It morpho-functional correlations. 'difficult to reconcile the natural reality and Alongside the basic neuroscience, as objective with a subjective and an individual neurobiology and Neuropsychology, are mind. [31-33] In recent decades, several emerging and new disciplines such as high- philosophers have expressed reservations impact neuropedagogy, the neurosociology, about the opportunity to explain the the neuropsychoanalysis to arrive, with psychological skills, including the ability to Patricia Churchland, the "Neuroethics" and be aware, through neurobiological the "Neurophilosophy" neologisms coined mechanisms. Searle is unable to give up the in an attempt to overcome the distinction idea that man has a free will, the belief that between the natural sciences and the a person who performs a certain behavioural humanities. [18-21] Molecular biology has choice is given the opportunity to do things progressively expanded our understanding other than the one already made. On the about how the brain develops and which other hand, however, he argues that: all of generates several complex behaviours, from our mental states are caused by the early stages of life. [22-24] The human neurobiological
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